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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Launching into tomorrow: NRIC guides new era of research and deployment
In June 2025, the Department of Energy announced the Reactor Pilot Program, an authorization pathway that allowed reactor developers to partner with the DOE to get first-of-a-kind (FOAK) reactors built and tested. Soon after, the DOE rolled out a complementary Fuel Line Pilot Program, which aimed to fast-track fuel projects. In all, 20 projects were accepted into the new programs.
Markus Preston, Erik Branger, Vitaly Fedchenko, Sophie Grape, Robert E. Kelley, Vaibhav Mishra, Débora M. Trombetta
Nuclear Technology | Volume 211 | Number 3 | March 2025 | Pages 548-569
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2024.2342184
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
There exist elements apart from uranium and plutonium that could potentially be used to construct the core of a nuclear explosive device. These belong to the so-called minor actinides (MAs), which exist in nonnegligible amounts in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and are in nearly all cases not covered by international safeguards. Future reprocessing of SNF could result in significant separation of these elements, potentially leading to new proliferation concerns. In this work, a methodology for a transparent assessment of the barriers against proliferation of MAs has been developed and applied to the case of neptunium, americium, and curium separated from spent fuel from pressurized water reactors. In this methodology, openly available data and Monte Carlo simulations have been used to assess the barriers posed by a number of parameters relevant to the production of a nuclear explosive device from SNF. The evaluation shows that the properties of neptunium present low barriers to proliferation and that it should be discussed within the context of future nonproliferation treaties and possibly be placed under international safeguards. The properties of americium and curium present higher barriers to proliferation, meaning that these elements require less focus in the nonproliferation context.